19Isaac's servants dug in the valley and found a spring-fed well.
20The herders from Gerar quarreled with Isaac's herders, claiming, "This water is ours!" So Isaac named the well Esek [Argument], because they had argued with him.
21Then they dug another well, and they quarreled over that one too. So Isaac named it Sitnah [Accusation].
22He moved on from there and dug another well. They didn't quarrel over this one. So he named it Rehoboth [Roomy] and said, "Now the LORD has made room for us, and we will prosper in this land."
23He went from there to Beersheba.
24That night the LORD appeared to Isaac, and said, "I am the God of your father Abraham. Don't be afraid, because I am with you. I will bless you and increase the number of your descendants for my servant Abraham's sake."
25So Isaac built an altar there and worshiped the LORD. He also pitched his tent in that place, and his servants dug a well there.
26Abimelech, his friend Ahuzzath, and Phicol, the commander of his army, came from Gerar to see Isaac. 27Isaac asked them, "Why have you come to me, since you hate me and sent me away from you?" 28They answered, "We have seen that the LORD is with you. So we thought, 'There should be a solemn agreement between us.' We'd like to make an agreement with you 29that you will not harm us, since we have not touched you. We have done only good to you and let you go in peace. Now you are blessed by the LORD." 30Isaac prepared a special dinner for them, and they ate and drank. 31Early the next morning they exchanged oaths. Then Isaac sent them on their way, and they left peacefully. 32That same day Isaac's servants came and told him about a well they had dug. They said to him, "We've found water." 33So he named it Shibah [Oath]. That is why the name of the city is still Beersheba today.
34When Esau was 40 years old, he married Judith, daughter of Beeri the Hittite. He also married Basemath, daughter of Elon the Hittite. 35These women brought Isaac and Rebekah a lot of grief.
